Kelly Gierke was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma just three months after giving birth to her second child, David.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The diagnosis came as a shock to the Crace mother, but with two young children life still went on around her.
After months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, she's now determined for life to get back to normal as her husband prepares to be deployed to the Middle East.
While her husband will be away on duty, she will walk in the Leukaemia Foundation Light the Night walk at the Kingston Foreshore on October 13.
"Since April, life's been pretty hectic," Ms Gierke said.
"But it was just life, that's what you do - we're lucky that the kids won't remember it.
"There were hard days but there were also good days, we've had lots of friends and family helping us out in the last year."
Ms Gierke - a high school english teacher - was on maternity leave when she discovered a lump in her neck.
She went to see the doctor and had some tests done before having it removed and confirmed as lymphoma.
Ms Gierke's husband, Ben, is an electrical engineer in the air force and is being deployed to the Middle East next year.
They're both happy he's going away because it shows cancer isn't ruling their lives anymore.
Mr Gierke said it was horrible watching his partner deal with the debilitating aspects of her cancer treatment.
"You're not really prepared for something like this, you plan for kids, you plan for holidays, you plan for work, study and career, but you don't plan for cancer," he said.
"It's horrible because I can't do anything - seeing her some weeks completely bedridden from the chemo.
"Kelly feels like she's a bad mum and not being there for the young kids. But she has to do everything she can to make sure she's well."
"Life doesn't stop, you think that life goes on pause when you have cancer. I think in a way it's been a blessing to have kids because it doesn't let you feel sorry about yourself, you've got to get joy out of each day."
Ms Gierke said the Light the Night walk was a way to share support for each other in a mass setting and discuss what is often a horrible thing to talk about.
"Blood cancer is a horrible disease, you can't just have an operation to remove it," she said.
The Leukaemia Foundation Light the Night walk at the Kingston Foreshore will start at 5.30pm on Friday, October 13.
